Various attempts have been set forth to seal lead wires or pins extending from a coil that is encapsulated within an overmolded plastic material. In some of these attempts, a cavity is formed within the overmolded material and the lead wires or pins from the coil extends into the cavity and a rubber grommet is disposed within the cavity. The lead wires extend through holes within the grommet and are sealed by a compressive force exerted on the outer circumference of the grommet. Many times, in these attempts, it is difficult to mold the plastic material around the leads extending therethrough. Many other arrangements are known for connecting leads to coils having overmolded material disposed around the coil. In these other arrangements, the leads that extend from the coil through the overmolded material may not be totally sealed from the outside atmosphere when being subjected to varying temperature. It is well known that when a coil is produced small voids are present after the winding is placed on the bobbin and the overmolded material is injected around the coil. During an increase in temperature, the pressure of the air within these voids expands thus producing an increase in pressure therein which, if not properly sealed, escapes around the leads that passes through the overmolded material. Likewise, as the temperature decreases, a pressure less than atmospheric is created within the voids. Consequently, if the leads are not properly sealed, air is drawn into the voids from the outside atmosphere. If the coil is being used in an environment containing contaminants, the contaminants are drawn into the voids and cause premature failure of the coil. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a positive seal around the leads so that contaminants cannot be drawn into the coil or sealed cavity. Likewise, it is desirable to provide such a seal arrangement to seal around other types of leads to protect sensitive components disposed in an otherwise sealed cavity from outside contaminants.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.